Beauty Undiscovered
by Yukimi the Ice Goddess
Summary: Naoko was never very popular in school. However, now that she's a big time writer, every boy she's ever known is trying to woo her! Meanwhile, she has a deadline to make and a friendship to win back. How will Naoko cope? N? Please review!
1. Prologue

Hello. This is a new story of mine that I've decided to call, "Beauty Undiscovered". Naoko is the prevalent character here, so I hope that I can do something with this. I like Naoko because she's a bit like me: she likes to write and loves superstitions.

Please enjoy this. I hope you like it.

* * *

Prologue:

"Um...Naoko?" Sakura said anxiously. She was shifting from side to side, looking very uncomfortable and slightly apologetic.

A twelve year old Naoko frowned slightly, not liking that Sakura was so tense. "What's wrong, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura cleared her throat. "Um...listen, I can't make it today...something came up and..." she looked Naoko straight in the eyes, her own slightly pleading.

Naoko sighed, a little forlorn. She knew exactly why Sakura couldn't come with her to go shopping. "Go ahead, Sakura-chan," she said, smiling kindly. "You don't want to keep your boyfriend waiting."

Sakura gasped. "Uh...that's..."

Naoko shook her head. "Don't deny it, Sakura. I saw Li-kun asking you out. It took him a lot of courage." She patted Sakura comfortingly. "You should be with him. I'd hate for him to be disappointed because of me. Besides," she continued, "you'd just be sad the whole time."

Sakura hung her head in shame. "Well...we could go tomorrow, Naoko. Couldn't we?"

Naoko nodded. "Tomorrow would be fine. You can tell me all about your date."

Sakura nodded, blushing slightly. "Thank you, Naoko-chan," she whispered and went over to Syaoran to tell him the news.

Naoko sighed again. Syaoran Li had been psyching himself up all month to ask her out. Sakura had been doing exactly the same. It would be a shame to let a month's planning go to waste.

Still, she thought a little resentfully, why today?

"Don't feel so down," a voice said from behind her. Naoko jumped in surprise, turning around to face the person who spoke. She relaxed immediately, recognizing who it was from his light brown hair and emerald eyes.

"Hello, Mikado," Naoko said, smiling again. The boy in front of her smiled back.

Mikado was Naoko's childhood friend who she knew and trusted more than anyone else. She had known him even before she had known Sakura and even though they went to different schools, they were always there for each other.

"Good afternoon, Naoko," Mikado said, his green eyes showing concern. "What happened? I thought you were going shopping today."

Naoko nodded. "Well, Li-kun might never ask her out again if she doesn't go. We can always go shopping." She smiled at him. "What are you doing here? I thought that YOU had work."

Mikado laughed. "Well, I decided to take a lunch break."

"You do know that it's only 11:00, right?" Naoko said slyly.

Mikado looked serious for a moment. "Do you know how long my lunch breaks take? I'll be gone for two hours at least."

Naoko laughed and playfully punched her friend.

"Hey," he said, tousling her hair. "I was serious."

Naoko knocked his hand away before he could mess her hair up any more. "So you're free for a couple of hours?" Naoko said.

Mikado nodded. "Up for a round of Street Fighter?" he asked, grinning wickedly.

Naoko smiled gamely. "You're on," she said, setting off at a run. "Race you," she called back. Mikado gasped in mock outrage and ran after her.

This wasn't the first time that plans with her friends had been cancelled. Tomoyo had been seen walking hand in hand with the refined Eriol Hiragizawa. Chiharu and Yamazaki had been spotted in a toy store not far away from her house one day, Chiharu pummeling him for telling one of his "stories". The most shocking surprise of all was when Naoko had seen her friend Rika with her former teacher, Mr. Tereda reading under a peach blossom tree in the park.

Naoko was the only one of her friends that didn't have a boy leaving roses on her doorstep. Of course, she wasn't very surprised. Naoko was a bit tomboyish and her glasses weren't exactly stylish. The intelligent types that might go for a girl like her were much too shy and, most of the time, were also idolizing one of her friends.

Naoko wasn't bothered much by this. She was much too busy as it was, with school and her writing. A boyfriend would complicate things way too much.

Mikado finally caught up with her and grabbed her arm. "We're at the arcade already, Naoko," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

Naoko looked at the building in front of them and recognized the deep red lettering. She smiled shamefacedly. "I knew that," she said, covering up her embarrassment.

"Uh huh, sure you did," Mikado said offhandedly and entered the arcade. Naoko hesitated for a moment and walked in after him.

"I swear you cheated," Mikado said after she had trounced him soundly five fights in a row on the machine.

"No, I think you're just getting rusty," Naoko joked.

Mikado shoved her slightly, enough to send her off balance but not enough to hurt her. "Maybe I was just going easy on you," he demurred, smiling.

Naoko laughed. "Yeah, right."

Mikado continued walking, unaware that Naoko had stopped. After he noticed she wasn't there, he turned around and found her staring into the window of the nearby bookstore. He walked over to see an author signing books inside.

"Isn't she that famous author that wrote Skyrider?" Mikado said. He was referring to one of Naoko's favorite books, the one that inspired her to become a writer herself.

She sighed wistfully. "Just watch," she said. "Someday, that's going to be me."

Mikado looked at her thoughtfully and nodded. "I don't doubt that for an instant."

* * *

Okay, this is just the prologue, so please don't kill me. I wanted to set the stage for what this story is actually going to be about. The real story will begin in the next chapter. This is just to introduce Mikado and to have a bit of foreshadowing.

I do not own CCS, CLAMP does. However, I do own Mikado. I also do not own Street Fighter, which belongs to Capcom.

Please review!


	2. Ten years later

Thanks to Awai-Umi for reviewing. I don't know how long this story shall go, but I know that I'm going to start in the actual plot today!

Now enjoy Beauty Undiscovered part 1!

* * *

Ten years later 

A young woman tossed her auburn hair back from her emerald eyes as she stood nervously at her boyfriend's door. He had not seemed to be in a good mood the day before and she was worried for him.

"Syaoran," she called through the walls. She knocked tentatively and shifted her weight.

The door slowly opened and Sakura Kinomoto, age 22, sighed with relief. "Good morning, Syaoran. You look much better today."

Syaoran Li brushed his fingers through Sakura's hair in tender apology. "I'm sorry for worrying you yesterday, Sakura. I just got news from back home." He sighed. "Meiling's engaged. I'm to come to the wedding in six months."

Sakura frowned sympathetically. She knew how persistent Meiling could be with family gatherings. Following Yelan Li's death five years ago, Meiling had become the matriarch of the Li clan, even though she possessed no magic powers. She was advised by Syaoran's sister, Feimei.

"So..." Sakura intoned. "Are we going to have lunch together today?"

Syaoran nodded tiredly. "Just hold on, I need to grab my jacket."

As he disappeared back inside his apartment, Sakura gave out a little squeal of joy and hop-skipped into the air. Even after all of these years, her love for Syaoran never wavered. She was sure that Syaoran felt the same way about her.

* * *

"Syaoran, are you nervous? About seeing Meiling after all of this time?" Sakura asked.

Syaoran looked at her questioningly and shook his head. "No, why should I be?"

Sakura twirled a strand of hair in her finger. "Well," she said, her eyes slightly shadowed, "you know she used to be in love with you..."

Suddenly Syaoran understood. He lifted Sakura's chin and kissed her gently. "Are you jealous?" he asked.

Sakura blushed. "N-no, of course not!" she stammered.

Syaoran smiled. "That's good. I don't want you to be. You know I love you."

Sakura smiled back at him. "As do I," she said.

They were about to walk into the restaurant when Sakura spotted a book in the window of the bookstore next to it. It was surrounded by signs that promoted it as a best-selling book for young teens. On the cover was a red dragon with emerald eyes and wings that were crystalline in look. The dragon looked so real that Sakura thought it might jump out. The book was titled Dragons of Earth and Sky.

Sakura stepped closer to the book. Her eyes widened and she grinned excitedly from ear to ear when she saw the name. "Syaoran, look at this!" she shouted gleefully.

Syaoran walked over to look at the book. His face turned into the picture of shock when he read the author's name.

The book was titled Dragons of Earth and Sky by Yanagisawa Naoko.

"Yanagisawa...?" Syaoran muttered, gaping openmouthed at the book.

Sakura clapped her hands with delight. "It's Naoko-chan! It has to be her! She always said she'd be a writer and she did it!" She turned to Syaoran. "I wonder if we could see her?" she asked.

Syaoran shrugged, not sharing Sakura's enthusiasm. He was never friendly with Naoko, but he was not hostile either.

"This will be great! Everyone can go and visit! We can call up Tomoyo and Eriol and Chiharu... this will be so much fun! It's like a big reunion!" Sakura clapped her hands and grabbed Syaoran's arm, dragging him away. Lunch was completely forgotten.

* * *

"Yanagisawa-san? You have an incoming call on line three." 

Naoko turned to look at her secretary. She was in the middle of writing her new novel and did not want to be interrupted. She was already behind in her schedule. "Could you tell them to wait?" she asked politely.

The secretary relayed her request into the phone and was met with an instant response. "Yes, hold on please," she said, placing her hand over the phone. "It's from a Yoshiyuki Mikado." Naoko spun around.

"Mikado-kun? Why didn't you say so?" She took the phone and held it up to her ear, typing at the same time. "Hello, Mikado."

On the other side of the phone line, Mikado was holding up the book review section of the newspaper. "Critics declare Dragons of the Earth and Sky a heartwarming tale to please even the youngest readers! The main character is completely believable and faces real life problems within the fantasy. The book is fulfilled with the precise amount of suspense, action, and romance needed for an award winning novel! Naoko," Mikado said after finishing the review, "I am impressed!"

Naoko laughed. "Is that all you've got to say? I've heard enough about me. How'd your interview go?"

"Great," Mikado replied. "I think I might be able to work as a manga artist next month."

Naoko smiled. "And I get to write your scripts, right?"

Mikado laughed. "Right, just like we agreed upon. You are a cool one. Haven't changed at all in ten years, have you?"

Naoko tossed her hair. "Only you would say that, Mikado."

Mikado looked at his phone's battery meter. "Whoops, I'm running low. I'll see you later, alright?"

Naoko nodded, forgetting that she was talking on the phone. "Sure thing. I wouldn't miss it for the world. See you later," she said, hanging up the phone.

Just as she hung up, the phone rang again. Rather than wait for her secretary to answer it, she picked it up herself. "Good morning, this is the office of Yanagisawa Naoko, Naoko speaking."

"Naoko-chan?" a surprised voice said into the phone. "Is it really you? It's me, Kinomoto Sakura!"

Naoko sat up in her seat after hearing that. "Sakura-chan? I haven't seen you in years!" she said happily.

"I saw your book in the window. I guess you finally became a writer! Is that your drawing on the front?" Sakura asked.

"No, my friend drew that. He's very talented," Naoko said.

"Naoko, I'd love to see you! Could you meet me later? I could come by your office. I've gotten a hold of Chiharu and Tomoyo too!"

Naoko grinned. "That would be great! I'll give you the address," she said, fumbling for her card.

"Don't worry," Sakura said. "It's printed in the book."

Naoko grimaced. "I told the publishers that that was a bad idea..." she mumbled. "No matter how small the font is..." She snapped out of it quick. "I'll see you then?"

"Yeah, thanks a lot! Goodbye!" Sakura cried in happiness. She hung up, leaving Naoko with an exciting prospect.

This was a time to get together with old friends!

* * *

Tomoyo and Chiharu arrived with Eriol and Yamazaki at Naoko's address an hour later.

"I'm glad you could come," Sakura said. "I want to congratulate Naoko-chan on her book."

Tomoyo nodded happily. "It's very exciting." Chiharu went up to the buzzer while the girls' beaus exchanged looks.

"Why are we here?" Syaoran grumbled.

Eriol grinned slightly. "Don't be crude, dear cousin," he muttered. "Naoko was one of Sakura's oldest friends. It would have been churlish to refuse to see her."

"Yeah, you're telling me," Yamazaki mumbled so the girls couldn't hear. "Chiharu was begging me." He grinned. "You see how cute she is. I couldn't refuse her." Chiharu waved the rest of them through as the door to the building opened.

Sakura knocked on the office door and threw herself at Naoko when she opened it. Naoko laughed with pleasure, gently easing Sakura off of her.

"Naoko, I'm so glad to see you! What's it been, five years?"

Naoko nodded. "I haven't seen any of you since high school." She smacked her head belatedly. "What am I thinking, keeping you out here? Come on in," she said, waving them into her office.

Tomoyo bowed, smiling. "It's good to see you again, Naoko-chan."

Chiharu nodded. "So how come you didn't tell us you wrote a best selling book?"

Naoko laughed. "I'm sorry; I thought you guys would have found me sooner. I'll be sure to keep in touch with you from now on." She looked around. "I guess Rika couldn't make it."

Tomoyo nodded. "She's pregnant. We thought it would be best if she stayed home."

Naoko nodded understandingly. "Still, it's too bad," she said.

Sakura gasped. "Oh, wait! Syaoran and the others are here too! Come here, guys!" she said, motioning for them to come in.

Syaoran entered first and stopped halfway into the room, causing Yamazaki to bump into him.

"Li-kun, what's the..." Yamazaki groaned, pushing himself away from Syaoran.

Eriol entered the room cautiously, wondering why Syaoran had stopped. Naoko laughed. "You look older, all three of you. It's good to see you again."

A blush crept across Syaoran's face. Eriol's eyes widened in surprise. Yamazaki bowed before doing a double take. The Naoko in front of them looked completely different from the one they knew years ago: she had turned into a beauty.

Naoko's chestnut hair had grown long and lustrous, shining slightly in the sun. Her glasses were gone, replaced by contacts. She was taller and her legs were long and slender. She herself was slim and was wearing a red business suit that fit her snugly. She smiled, showing incredibly white teeth.

Syaoran's mouth moved soundlessly. Eriol sensed that his "cousin" was unable to speak and make sense at the same time and stepped in.

"It is very good to see you again, Yanagisawa-san. You are looking well indeed." He bowed deeply, never taking his eyes off her.

Yamazaki stepped forward and bowed as well, smiling coyly. His eyes searched her, overlooking every part of her. He nudged Syaoran who gasped and bowed as well.

Naoko laughed, feeling strange. Why were they acting like this?

Sakura and Chiharu were confused as to why their boyfriends weren't sulking anymore. However, Tomoyo's perceptive eyes frowned slightly. She hadn't seen Syaoran and the rest act like that in years.

As the girl's chatted, the men grouped together and whispered intently.

"Did you SEE her?" Yamazaki said, animated and excited. "What a fox!"

Syaoran blushed slightly. "She does look different," he mumbled.

Yamazaki laughed. "Come on, say what you mean. You think the same thing I do."

A smile played across Eriol's lips. "True, she does look quite the lady. But Yamazaki-kun, should you be talking like that? You have a girlfriend, as do all of us," he said, reminding them of their duty.

Syaoran looked down shamefacedly but Yamazaki wasn't fazed.

"We can't be blamed for just looking, right? Chiharu isn't the jealous type," he said offhandedly.

Syaoran closed his eyes. Sakura WOULD be jealous if he was caught looking at Naoko that way.

Eriol glanced at the woman that Naoko the girl had become and smiled. "Interesting," he muttered. "Very interesting..."

* * *

All right! I'm finished with the first chapter! Prepare to face the strangest love tale you've seen yet!

Please review. I hate it when people read but don't review.


	3. Admiration

No, I'm not dead. All of you reviewers must be so mad at me. But, it occurred to me that since I've started three fics, completed two one-shots, and ended an ongoing story before updating this, I need to continue.

Thanks to my three reviewers. I really hope you can continue reading this.

Disclaimer: Why would anyone think that I own Card Captor Sakura? I do own Mikado, though.

* * *

A blaring alarm woke Naoko up from her well-deserved sleep at six-o'clock the next morning. Groaning, she got up, threatening thoughts involving her alarm clock buzzing through her mind. Glancing at the clock, she vaguely wondered why it looked so much lighter outside than usual. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Daylight-savings time," she grumbled. "I forgot to set the clocks forward..." Realizing that she was not going to get anymore sleep, she got up to get dressed, cursing the day that she got addicted to coffee. Her mind traveled back to a time when she could awaken in the morning without filling her veins with caffeine.

Naoko sifted through her messy desk to find her coffee machine and turned it on, noting that her computer was still on from the previous night. She had gotten to bed very late the night before because she was finishing up the sixth chapter of the sequel to her book. Her editor demanded the pages, and she had nothing, so she spent four hours completing her new addition.

"Kanna dangled from the edge of the cliff, the thunderous sound of horse hoofs coming even closer," the computer screen read. "Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she vainly tried to get up. Where was Skytrotter? She was not answering to her furious calls. Any second now she would slip and fall to her death."

Where on earth was she going with this in the first place? Naoko couldn't remember for the life of her. Sighing, she printed out the pages, resigned to the fact that Kimiko, her editor, would have a fit. This was nowhere NEAR quality work.

Finally sitting down to some breakfast, she opened up her newspaper and flipped to the horoscope section. It was tradition for her to check both her and Mikado's daily horoscope. Scanning the page, her brow furrowed when she saw what it said.

**Libra: Romance is in the stars for you this month. Be prepared to face some problems with old acquaintances. Venus is touring Earth this month, making your love life a very passionate one. Some choices may crop up that could change the course of your life. Keep your cool and ride it out.**

It was being oddly specific. Her horoscope was rarely ever right, but Naoko was still very superstitious. This supposed prospect of passionate love excited her somewhat, but she was worried by the mention of "old acquaintances". Did it mean Sakura and the others? Putting it out of her mind for the moment, she went down to Mikado's forecast.

**Leo: Financial gain will come your way in the following weeks. ****Stay true to your commitments and you will always succeed. This month brings love, since Venus is in orbit. Helping out a friend will bring you fulfillment and great joy. However, a fellow Leo could cause you some trouble. **

Naoko frowned as she munched on a piece of toast. Did Mikado know any Leos? She could not recall any. Still, her friend would be happy about the financial gain that his horoscope predicted.

Not that Mikado really believed in horoscopes in the first place. Naoko had enough enthusiasm for the both of them.

Her breakfast finished, she prepared to walk outside. She could still fit a walk in before work and then meet Mikado for lunch. Opening the door, she stepped on something with a soft crunch.

Naoko looked down to see what she had stepped on and was shocked by what she found. Underneath her foot was a bouquet of Crape Myrtle, her favorite flower as a child. She quickly took her foot off of the purple blossoms and picked up. Examining it, she saw that there was no note attached.

Her first reaction was that Mikado had left them there to congratulate her on her success with her book. He was the only one who would know what her favorite flower was. But, why would he leave them there on her doorstep with no note? He was not the type of guy to do things in secret. If these were from him, he would have just given them to her in person.

Naoko recalled her horoscope reading and blushed softly. Well, well, she thought. Perhaps it actually will come true this time. Shaking her head, she went to her office, not caring that she was an hour late. The only way to know for sure was to ask Mikado.

As she walked away, a bespectacled figure peered out from behind a tree and smiled mysteriously at her retreating back.

* * *

That afternoon, Naoko found Mikado waiting outside of her office, a grin plastered on his face. He had not changed much in the past ten years, still having the things that stood out about his looks: his passionate green eyes and his light brown hair. If it were any other person, Naoko would have fallen in love with those eyes. Every now and then, they still held her heart, but she had learned to ignore it. His lanky arms and legs gave him expression and depth that nobody she knew had. It also made him a comical figure, which accentuated his personality even more.

One more thing made Mikado special. He was always smiling, which pleased Naoko to no end. Naoko was always struggling with work and housekeeping, so Mikado's cheery attitude helped her through her stress-filled life. She picked up the flowers and went to greet him.

"Flowers? For me?" Mikado said joyfully, carefully lifting them from Naoko's grasp. He inhaled their scent comically, startling a laugh out of his friend. "I do thank you," he finally said, "but I'm afraid I must decline. I simply have nothing to put them in."

Still chuckling, Naoko replied, "Are you sure you don't want to ditch drawing and become an actor? You'd be perfect for it."

Mikado shook his head and leaned against the wall. "Nah. I'd much rather spread my odd sense of humor through art." As they walked down the hall, he casually ask, "So if those flowers aren't for me, who are they for?"

Naoko stopped walking suddenly. "So, you didn't give these to me then?"

Mikado shook his head. "No. What gave you that idea?"

A look of puzzlement crossed Naoko's face as the pair walked down the stairs together. "Well, I found them on my doorstep. There was no note attached. You are the only one who knows my favorite flower. I'm not seeing anybody. Who could it have been?"

Mikado shrugged offhandedly, pointedly not looking at Naoko. "Who knows? I just know it wasn't me."

Naoko sighed. Mikado was obviously uncomfortable discussing this, or he would not be avoiding her gaze. She was inwardly a little disappointed that Mikado didn't leave her those flowers, but she was determined not to give Mikado that idea.

It was one of Naoko's greatest fears that Mikado and she would become romantically involved, but sometimes she secretly wanted it to happen. Since she was about fourteen years old, she had begun to have dreams about the two of them. Of course, she never told anyone about the dreams, partly because they were very embarrassing, and also because they were so rare. Mikado had never showed any romantic interest in her. Occasionally she wondered what would happen if they became something more, but then Mikado said or did something that reminded her why they were just friends.

He could be quite annoying sometimes.

About to change the subject, Naoko was interrupted by a loud cry of delight.

"Naoko-chan!" Sakura called from ten feet behind her, dragging along a reluctant Syaoran.

Naoko beamed and waved back. "Sakura-chan! Hello!"

Sakura came running up to her friend and stopped abruptly, out of breath from her sprint. "We just keep running into each other, huh?"

Naoko laughed. "It would seem so." As if remembering her manners, she smacked her head and said, "Sakura-chan, this is Yoshiyuki Mikado. Mikado, this is Kinomoto Sakura."

Mikado extended his hand and grinned. "We've met before. I recognize you." He pondered for a moment, while Sakura looked at him, confused. Finally, he clasped his hands together and said, "Nao-chan's twelfth birthday party, right?" He ignored Naoko's red face at the mention of his old pet name for her.

Realization dawned on Sakura's face. "Right! You were the one who gave her the book full of American superstitions!"

Naoko grinned. "I still read that," she admitted.

Throughout the pleasantries, Syaoran shuffled his feet awkwardly, trying not to stare at Naoko. He could not help glancing at her however, and his face was beet red. Mikado finally noticed him and drew his attention by holding out his hand. "I guess the lovely Kinomoto-san isn't going to introduce us. I'm Mikado."

Sakura gasped. "I'm sorry! This is my boyfriend, Li Syaoran!" she said frantically. Syaoran stared at Mikado's hand for a moment before shaking it.

"I like your grip," Mikado said after he had let go, massaging his hand. Syaoran stared at him intently, a calculating look on his face.

Trying to move the conversation away from Syaoran, Sakura asked innocently, "So, are you two going out?"

A fleeting glance passed between the two friends before they answered, "No!" in unison.

"We're friends," Naoko alliterated.

"And sometimes colleagues," Mikado added hastily.

Syaoran's intense gaze lessened slightly and he nodded to himself. He quickly grabbed Sakura's hand and said, "Shall we go?"

Sakura gasped. "Oh, yes, we were going shopping, weren't we? I'm sorry," she apologized. "I'm dragging Syaoran down to pick up furnishings for his apartment."

Naoko nodded. "That's all right; we were just heading out to lunch. I'll talk to you later," she said, as Sakura and Syaoran walked away. Mikado noted that Syaoran was looking back over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of Naoko's face.

"What's his problem?" he eventually asked after they were out of range. "It's like he's trying to check you out or something."

Naoko stared at her friend and shook her head. "You think so? I didn't notice."

Mikado snorted. "How could you not? He was, like, mentally undressing you. His girlfriend didn't seem to notice either."

Naoko was about to reply that she didn't think Syaoran would do something like that when her cell phone rang. "Hello?" she said, turning away from Mikado to concentrate better.

"Naoko? It's Chiharu. Listen, I was wondering if you could come over today, sometime later."

Naoko frowned slightly. Chiharu sounded worried. "Why, is there a problem?" she asked, concerned.

"Well...sort of. Sakura and Tomoyo are both busy today, and I didn't want to bother Rika, with the baby and all...so I was wondering if you could help me out. It's a bit of a personal thing." The worry in her voice showed even more. Naoko could swear she heard her voice crack.

"Sure, I'll come by as soon as I can. I'll be there in an hour or so, okay?" Naoko said, trying to comfort her friend.

"Thank you," Chiharu replied and hung up before Naoko could question further.


	4. Yamazaki's Lies

Chapter 3: Yamazaki's Lies

Naoko stood at the door to Chiharu's apartment nervously. She tried to imagine what could be making Chiharu so distressed. Thinking back to their high school days, Naoko remembered Chiharu as a cheerful, fun girl. Although not as active as Sakura, she was still part of the cheerleading squad and put her entire soul into her cheers. With her long pigtails and intelligent eyes, Chiharu had drawn many a glance from dozens of boys, but she turned all who asked her out down. Only her close friends knew why: Chiharu and Yamazaki had been officially going steady since their freshman year, although they didn't broadcast it. To a casual onlooker, they were just good friends.

Naoko sighed. After not seeing her old friends at all for five years, she was certainly getting involved with them quite a bit lately!

The point was Chiharu might have changed since they had last met. Yamazaki certainly had. He had grown taller for one thing, and his hair was slightly longer and messier, a bit like Syaoran's had been. Also, Naoko could not remember Yamazaki having that slightly sardonic smile whenever he talked to someone. He had seemed oddly frustrated with Chiharu when they had met at her office a few days before.

Hesitating slightly, Naoko prepared to knock on her old friend's door when it opened. Naoko's eyes widened with shock. Standing before her was Chiharu, but not the happy, neat Chiharu she knew. Her hair was undone from her usual pigtails and seemed slightly unwashed. She was dressed in a yellow nightgown and slippers and her brown eyes were red from crying. All and all, she looked like a mess. Naoko was caught off guard.

"I saw you outside," Chiharu explained, motioning towards the peephole on the door. She tried to give a half-smile, but failed, instead lowering her eyes to look at her feet.

Naoko blinked. This wasn't like Chiharu at all. "Is it that important?" she said after a short pause.

Chiharu nodded morosely, taking Naoko's hand and leading her inside her tiny apartment.

Once inside, Naoko couldn't help but gasp. One other thing she remembered about Chiharu was that she adored plush toys. Her apartment was a living testament to this trait. A small apartment in the first place, it was made smaller by the hundreds of stuffed animals arranged around it. On top of the TV, replacing pillows on the couch, hanging on the ceiling fan like some little kid's mobile…they were everywhere. It was actually nice looking, in a weird sort of way.

"It's like a six-year old's dream apartment," Naoko muttered under her breath.

Chiharu didn't seem to catch it. Instead, she seated herself on her pink, fluffy couch and hugged a stuffed panda to her chest. She then stood up and said hurriedly, "I'm sorry, I forgot my manners. Would you like tea or something, Naoko-chan?"

"Don't worry about it, really," Naoko said, motioning for her friend to sit back down. "So," she continued, "What's the problem? I'll try to help any way I can?"

Chiharu didn't answer. Instead, she stood up again and wandered over to her answering machine. Moving the bean-filled cats that covered it away, she silently pressed the play button and waited.

"_You have 1 new message_," a mechanical voice droned.

-beep-

"Chiharu? It's Yamazaki. Listen, uh…oh, jeez. There's something you should know…about me…Um, a while back, I went into a bar for a couple of drinks…One of those new ones downtown, actually they're pretty nice…not the point. This girl, uh, came up to me and we talked for a bit…and drank for a bit…and one thing might have led to another…

"Chiharu, I'm just going to get to the point now. I'm really glad I got your answering machine because I don't think I could say this to your face. I think we should…take a break for a while. And see other people. For the past few months, I've been feeling, I don't know, restless, and I think I need to get away for a while. To clear my head. Because when I was talking to that girl at the bar, I wasn't thinking about you at all. I need to know why. I need to make sense of why I'm not…happy right now.

"I'm not making sense right now…I'm sorry about this, Chiharu. I never deserved you. Please understand."

-beep-

Naoko stared at the answering machine in stunned silence. Apart from when he said that he wanted to break up with her, none of the message made any coherent sense. But the general gist of it seemed to be that he wasn't happy being with her and that he wanted to see other people besides her.

Naoko had never figured that Yamazaki would do something like that. It wasn't just thoughtless, it was stupid. Why would he break up with her after all that time they had spent together, and over the phone no less?

Chiharu had started crying softly again as the message played. Naoko wasn't sure if she should say something to her or not, but before she could Chiharu spoke up. "He never let on…that he wasn't happy…what happened…? Am I not…good enough for him anymore…?"

Naoko was speechless. Chiharu's voice sounded so small and weak to her, barely above a whisper. She refused to look at Naoko, still staring down at her feet.

I'm in over my head, Naoko thought. Chiharu was right not to make me the first person to call. "Chiharu…I'm sure it's not as bad as it seems."

Naoko winced. That was entirely the wrong thing to say. She knew that as soon as Chiharu looked up with a scandalized look on her face. "What I meant," Naoko said quickly, trying to save the situation, "is have you talked to Yamazaki about this?"

Chiharu shook her head. "I tried going to his house, but he wasn't there. The door was locked and the windows were all dark. My…my key didn't even work." Her eyes became the picture of despair. "Doesn't he realize…that I would have forgiven him? Even if he was actually telling the truth?"

That remark really got Naoko's attention. "Wait, he was lying about that girl in the bar?" she demanded. "How do you know?"

Chiharu flopped back down onto the couch, sending her nightgown whirling around her. "For one thing, Yamazaki-kun doesn't normally drink. At least, not with me he doesn't. I suppose it could be possible that he went to a bar and got drunk if he was really depressed, but it's against his character. And…"

She paused for a minute to brush her hair back out of her eyes. Then she stared up at Naoko and tried to force a laugh. "…I can tell. After all the lies he's told, big or small, I can tell if he's not being truthful. Even if we're not face to face and he's trying to hide it, like he was on that message, I can tell." A single tear started to travel down one of her now red cheeks. "Because," she finished, "I know him. And I love him."

Naoko was silent. Against her will, she could feel tears forming in her own eyes and hastened to wipe them away. Her friend only sat there, her legs pulled up to her chest, like she was protecting something good and pure inside her against corruption, or shielding her heart against an attack. Her eyes shone with more than tears; her love was pouring out of them. Without having experienced true love before, Naoko could tell what she was seeing. Chiharu's heart was slowly breaking, like ice cracking under the heat of the sun. Only water would flow as a result.

Naoko couldn't stand it.

"When…did he leave this message?" Naoko said tentatively, trying to bring Chiharu out of her depression.

"Oh…two days ago," Chiharu replied softly. "I also left a message on his machine. I don't know what I'll say…if I see him in person."

"What did your message say?"

Chiharu shook her head doubtfully. "Just that I was confused and wanted to talk to him more about it." She shrugged. "I guess that's why Yamazaki never returned my call."

"I guess so," Naoko muttered. By now she was feeling extremely uncomfortable. She wanted to say something, but there was nothing she felt was safe to say. However…there was one question that was on her mind. Taking a deep breath, she decided to ask and hope that Chiharu wouldn't get angry with her.

"Um…Chiharu? This might seem a bit personal, and you don't have to answer, but…" She gulped. "Why…why do you still call him Yamazaki?"

Chiharu blinked. She wasn't expecting that at all. "What…?"

"I mean," Naoko continued, "Since you've been dating so long, shouldn't you be calling him by his first name, Takashi?"

Chiharu stared at her like a deer looks at an oncoming car. Slowly, she lifted her hand up and smoothed her hair nervously. "Well," she eventually said, her voice light and quivery, "I guess…I never…really thought about it!" She bit her lower lip, which had started to tremble. "I guess I've always called him that. Even when we started dating in high school." She gasped, suddenly hit by insight. "I told him I loved him…before I called him by his first name!"

Suddenly things started to make a lot more sense. "Maybe," Naoko began, "he's frustrated by that. It seems like a small thing, but it could have a lot of meaning. And even if he says that's not the reason he broke up with you, it could be subconscious! Maybe…he's just trying to see what you'll do."

Silence.

Chiharu took a deep breath and nodded slowly, blinking more tears away as she did so. "I don't like it…but it makes sense."

Naoko moved to sit down next to her friend and gently took her hand. "Go and seem him again tomorrow," she urged softly as Chiharu stared speechlessly at her. "If I'm right, and if you do nothing, it will seem like you don't care. And you should tell him you forgive him about that girl," she added, nodding towards the answering machine, "even if you think he's lying. I really don't pretend to know much about this," she laughed, "but I don't want you to be sad. You have to be the one to make it right again."

Suddenly, Chiharu hugged Naoko around the waist and muttered a soft "thank you." After the initial surprise, Naoko smiled warmly and hugged her back. For the first time in years, she was starting to feel like a real friend.

* * *

After she left the apartment, she only felt confused by the whole affair. Couples who had spent years together did not suddenly break up over one fling. She admired Chiharu's willingness to forgive Yamazaki for the infraction on their relationship, but still pondered over the elusive wording in his message. If he lied about his encounter with that girl, would he have also lied about the reason for him breaking up with her? That whole thing about seeing other people so that he could 'clear his head' seemed dead wrong to Naoko.

It was almost like…he was trying to create an excuse to bring up with her.

Her reverie was broken by her loudly ringing cell phone inside her purse. After letting out a startled yell, she hastily answered it with a quick "Moshi moshi?"

"NAOKO! THOSE PAGES WERE SUPPOSED TO BE IN TODAY!"

After making sure the ringing in her ears had stopped, Naoko began speaking again. "Kimiko…hi…how's it going?" she said nervously.

"Don't 'how's it going' me, Naoko-san! I expected ten pages from you today! Your deadline has already been extended twice!" Naoko's angry editor yelled.

"I sent you the pages!" Naoko protested. "By fax! You said that was all right in an emergency!"

"That crap that I received earlier? I can hardly believe that's your work!"

"I…didn't get a test reader in time, I've been really busy…"

"That's no excuse!" Kimiko interrupted. "I want to meet you at your house in an hour. Please don't keep me waiting!"

Click!

Naoko listened despondently to the dial tone on her phone for a few seconds before putting it away. She had known this would happen. She had been getting way too sloppy with her deadlines lately. The reason? Writer's block. It rarely struck her, even though she refused to write outlines for her stories beforehand, but when it did it was bad.

And it could not have come at a worse time. Readers of her newest work, Dragon's of the Earth and Sky, proclaimed it a huge success and people were already demanding sequels. Since Naoko refused to do this because she had not planned on making her book a series, she had begun writing a companion novel for it. Her publishers wanted it done within the year, and with at least five missed deadlines, it did not look like that was going to happen.

Naoko suddenly had the urge to call Mikado. She didn't have any particular reason: she just wanted to call him. Dialing his number, she fidgeted for a few moments before hearing his voice.

"Nao-chan! Hello!"

Naoko felt her face flush. "Since when did you start calling me that again? Do you want me to call you Miki-kun?" she retorted.

"No way! It makes me sound like a girl! So," he continued after Naoko's laughter had subsided, "what's up? How's your friend?"

Naoko's mood dropped slightly as she spoke. "Not so good. Her boyfriend left her a message saying he wants to see other people."

"Ouch. That must have stung."

"Yeah," Naoko said, slightly confused at Mikado's tone. She couldn't see his expression so it was hard to tell, but she could have sworn he hesitated a bit before saying that. "Oh, hey," she said, changing the subject, "Do you know any Leos besides yourself?"

"Leo's? What…oh, no, you're not checking my horoscope again, are you?"

"Just a little," Naoko admitted. "It's good, though! It says you're going to have a romantic encounter."

"…sou des ka."

Naoko's eyes narrowed. There was that tone again. He definitely hesitated that time. She wished she could see his face! "Yeah. It says to expect trouble from Leos."

"Huh. That's weird." There was a short pause before he spoke again. "Hey, Naoko. I just thought of something. I'm assuming you know about that comet that's passing by soon, right?"

Naoko's eyes began to sparkle. This was definitely something she was interested in. "Of course!" she gushed. "It only comes by every fifty years! I'll be old or dead before I'll get another chance to see it!"

"Exactly," Mikado laughed. "Anyway…According to this article I read, I'll be getting a pretty good view of it from outside my house. It's three days from now. How about coming over?"

Naoko let out a girlish squeal, not unlike that of a groupie who's going to see her favorite rock band. "That would be so awesome! I was just planning on going into the city! This'll be much nicer." She took a deep breath, aware that she was getting a bit carried away. "Thank you," she said sincerely.

"Hey, not a problem," Mikado replied cheerily, starting to sound more like himself. "Anything for my Nao-chan," he added cheekily.

Naoko pouted, even though she was talking on the phone. "Stop that! I'll catch up with you later, okay? I've got to get home."

"All right. Tell me if there are more flowers there."

After hanging up, Naoko did a little twirl in the street, not caring that she might seem a bit silly to any passerby watching. Even a telling off from her editor wouldn't spoil her mood!

* * *

AN: I am so sorry for not updating in so long. I've had really bad writer's block on all of my stories and did not writing anything for about six months. I'm still continuing this story, even though nobody seems really interested in it (review please!)

BTW, "sou des ka" means "Is that so" in Japanese.

Once again, please review! Constructive critisism is much appriciated!


	5. It all Happened so Fast

Chapter 5: "It all happened so fast…"

Kimiko did not look at all happy. Already a serious person by nature, she stood at the door leading into Naoko's house looking absolutely livid, her feet tapping impatiently with an almost murderous scowl imprinted on her face. Her deep brown eyes flashed dangerously as Naoko cautiously approached. She had lived through one of her editor's rants before and did not think the experience was pleasant. Kimiko was one of the only people in the world that Naoko had ever been afraid of, and she had a good reason to be; the woman was a juggernaut. Every encounter with her when she was angry was like a near-death experience.

She hardly ever resorted to physical abuse, but the shame she brought on to you as a writer made you want to kill yourself.

Stopping a few yards away to calm her now pounding heart, Naoko appraised the human tornado standing on her doorstep. When she wasn't hopping mad, Kimiko Fujizara was a strikingly beautiful woman. She was at least three inches taller than Naoko with a slender form and long delicate eyelashes. Her thin but sturdy frame and her shock blonde hair inherited from her American mother could have instantly made her a model, but for some unknown reason she decided to edit books. She was like a tiger: gorgeous but ready to pounce at any given second. She was also famous for being extensively overdramatic and invested personal interest in each of her editing projects.

She could do nothing about the plot of the story herself, but with a few well placed words (and fists) she could effectively change a writer's mind.

Naoko flushed; she could feel nervous sweat on her forehead. Taking one last deep breathing and praying for God to see her out of this situation, she walked slowly and deliberately to face the raging bull.

Before Naoko could even greet her editor, she yelled, "And just what was that crap I received today at my office?"

"It's…a filler until I finish the real thing," Naoko stammered, realizing that she had already relinquished control of the conversation.

"You were always bad at making excuses. You were fully intending on making that part of the book! Can you imagine trying to write yourself out of that corner? How on earth is Kanna supposed to survive falling off a cliff when her dragon is incapacitated? Well?"

Naoko gulped. "Couldn't Lalzo save her…?"

"He could if he hadn't been captured by the enemy and thrown into a jail cell fifty miles away. Or did you forget that happened?"

Naoko looked stricken. "I did!" she wailed, completely and utterly ashamed of herself. Nothing like this ever happened to her while she was writing.

"Yes," said Kimiko, "That was obvious since you continued having Lalzo comment on everything that was going on, even though he wasn't there. Do you want to give your readers a headache?" She tapped the manuscript irately against her side. "Well? How do you plan on continuing with the story without a heroine?"

"Uh…" Naoko fumbled slightly with her purse as she struggled with the answer. The thought crossed her mind to throw the purse to distract her rabid editor and run away. Finally, she lamely muttered, "…a wizard did it?"

"You've been reading too much fan fiction," Kimiko spat.

Naoko directed her gaze towards her feet, a puppy being stared down by a wolf. Then, in a surprise move, Kimiko laid her hand gently on the writer's shoulders and gave her an almost kindly smile. "You know," she said softly, "I'm only giving you such a hard time because I believe you can do better. You…do know that, right?"

The fear slowly left Naoko's body and she smiled cautiously back. "Yeah, I know…thank you."

"Good!" Kimiko said happily, clapping Naoko heartily on the back. "You've got five days to give me twenty more pages, plus the revision of these."

Her finishing blow. "What? Are you serious?"

"You obviously weren't on earth when you wrote those two chapters," Kimiko continued, now chuckling slightly despite herself. "But you've got a duty as a novelist to uphold. You've been behind writing-wise for a while now. You got writer's block?"

Naoko smiled uneasily. "Well…sort of. It's hard to explain. But," she continued, "I can't make up all those pages now. I've got a lot going on. Can't you extend the due date, just this once?"

Kimiko sighed. "I've already pulled you out of a few tough spots with your publisher, Naoko. They want your sequel finished within the year, and you've barely started. If you've got the block, try rereading your old stuff." Suddenly, her eyes narrowed. "But seriously, stop reading the fan fiction. It gives you bad ideas."

Naoko laughed, over her past mortification, and said somewhat apologetically, "But I like reading fan fiction! It's really cool to see what people think of when they use my characters."

"Even when they write embarrassing romances involving your main character in a three-way?"

This drew a wince out of Naoko. "Well, maybe not then. But I don't read those."

"Uh-huh. Keep in touch, Naoko." As the older woman walked away, she turned back and gave Naoko a quizzical look. "By the by, what's making you so busy? Do you have boyfriend troubles or something?"

Blinking, Naoko scratched her head and tried to think of a way to respond. "I'm not seeing anybody, Kimiko. You know that."

Her editor frowned. "Really? That's weird." She pointed somewhere behind the confused writer. "What are those doing there, then?"

Naoko spun around, even more confused until she saw what Kimiko was talking about. Lying on her doorstep was another bouquet of flowers.

* * *

Naoko woke up the next day in a bad mood, having not slept well the night before. She was too busy puzzling over the mysterious flowers she kept receiving. She had only managed to deduce one thing about them: there was more than one person who had thought of the idea. While the first batch had been crape myrtle, the latter was a bouquet of roses. Why would the first suitor suddenly switch his gift of choice, and in the same day no less? 

No, there were at least two people leaving roses on her doorstep, and Naoko had absolutely no idea why. She had always been a bit of a recluse, and her writing made her even more withdrawn. She never went out to clubs, or with girlfriends, or even by herself as most single people did. The idea of meeting someone never seemed very important. Her last and only boyfriend had been in her freshman year of college.

She couldn't remember many men having interest in her…

…because when it came down to it, being pretty had little to do with being liked if you were not social.

Finally fed up with thinking about the subject, Naoko decided to test the waters by going out to shop and then coming back later. There was no use of trying to find out who was doing this now. Let the poor men alone for a little while longer. Perhaps later she could catch them in the act.

Besides, she secretly thought the whole thing was rather romantic, like one of the novels she sometimes indulged in. It could not hurt to let it continue for a few days. She knew she had to put a stop to it soon, however, or her house would be overrun by the purple and white flowers.

It was slightly chilly outside, which was somewhat strange considering that it was the middle of May. Despite the cold, it was an almost idyllic spring day. A smattering of clouds overhead hid the sun from the flower-laden ground. Blossoms sprang to life on forked branches and the wind scattered the few loose ones across the landscape. A peach blossom petal found its way into Naoko's hair. Chuckling, she brushed it away and then made her way over the shopping center that housed her favorite bookstore.

She must have gone shopping in this particular store thousands of times. It was almost like a second home to her and everything was always the same: the tinkle of the bells as she opened the door, the cozy warmth, the subtle scent of tea from the connecting tea house that only a trained nose could pick up…it was paradise. Eyes shining happily as she entered the store, she breathed a sigh of utter contentment and glided swiftly over to the new release section.

After browsing the selection available on the little brown shelf for a while, Naoko finally found one that interested her. She was about to go to the counter to check it out when an auburn-colored shape caught her eye. Focusing on the shape, she quickly identified it as the head of someone she knew very well.

_I just keep running into her lately_, she thought before heading over to the woman. "Hello there, Sakura-chan."

Sakura blinked a little before turning to look at Naoko. It was almost as if she was awakening from sleep. "Oh, hi, Naoko-chan!" she said, a slightly less bubbly tone in her voice. For some reason, she seemed less sincere as a whole, from the fake cheerfulness to the forced smile. It seemed like there was sadness in her eyes, something completely out of character compared to her normally sunny disposition.

Naoko frowned slightly, immediately sensing that something was wrong. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine!" said Sakura hurriedly. "I'm just a bit tired."

Normally Naoko would have accepted this explanation and dropped the subject. However, she could not help noticing the slightly red hue in Sakura's emerald eyes. "But, you look like you've been crying."

Sakura said nothing, but Naoko saw unshed tears beginning to form. "It's really nothing, nothing at all," Sakura insisted. Seeing the questioning look on Naoko's face, she quickly relented. "It's just that…Syaoran-kun and I…kind of broke up."

"Are you serious?" Naoko exclaimed, drawing many annoyed looks from book shoppers. Lowering her voice, she continued, "But the two of you seemed fine the other day. What happened?"

Determined to keep up a happy appearance, Sakura continued to smile as she explained the details. "It's really not that sudden. We've been a bit shaky for a couple of years now. It's just…yesterday it was like all the things we didn't like about each other came out into the open. It sort of…escalated into this huge fight, and…" She shrugged, almost helplessly in Naoko's eyes. "Don't worry," she assured her writer friend, "It was completely mutual. If anything, I broke up with him. I'm just…taking it a bit hard. I've never…broken up with anyone before. It all...happened so fast..."

What Sakura was saying, Naoko realized, was that she had never had another boyfriend except for Syaoran Li. "You've been together for over ten years?" she whispered, both in awe and disbelief.

"Well…yeah. That's part of the reason I was a little mad at him, actually. I know that we're still young and all, but I thought that we were moving forward a little, you know?" Naoko could definitely detect a hint of sadness in the girl's trembling voice. Sakura's smile was looking more and more forced. "We never even moved in together. Doesn't that seem…kind of weird?"

Naoko was speechless. Obviously her friends' romantic relationships were set on rockier ground than she thought they were. Despite Sakura's assurance to the contrary, things were definitely not okay.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "Tomoyo and Eriol aren't having problems, are they?"

Sakura blinked. "No, as far as I know they're doing well. Why?"

As Naoko explained about Chiharu and Yamazaki, she watched as Sakura's eyes grew wider and wider. By the end of it, she seemed utterly baffled. "That doesn't sound like Yamazaki at all. Why would he do that to Chiharu-chan?"

"I know. I don't understand it either. And his explanation was way too stupid to be real," Naoko said thoughtfully. "Something deeper is going on here."

After a few more moments in which Naoko did her best to console her friend, the two girls finally separated leaving Naoko more confused than ever. As she walked back to her house she pondered about the astounding turn of events in the past couple of days. A week ago she would never have thought that she would have been caught up in so much drama. She could not even remember anything like this happening when she was in high school. There was no apparent reason for it either.

Suddenly, a suspicion hit her like a ton of bricks. When she had met the six of them at her office, there had been a huge amount of emotion. The way the men had acted towards their girlfriends, the way they had acted towards her, the general atmosphere…

No. No, there had to be some other explanation. She could not have had anything to do with these breakups.

Could she?

All of a sudden Naoko felt very unsteady on her feet. The air outside did not seem quite so chilly anymore. In fact, it felt as though she was burning up. Hurriedly running through a list of options in her head, she came to a decision. She was going to talk to the men herself and straighten the entire thing out.

First stop: Yamazaki.

* * *

Comments? Questions? Complaints? Please leave a review on the way out. This chapter's purpose is basically to set up the basis for future chapters. I swear that things will start happening really soon. I tend to be a bit slow on the exposition part of stories. 


	6. A Tragic Misstep

Chapter 6: A Tragic Misstep

"So you're telling me he wasn't there?"

Naoko swirled her drink in its glass absentmindedly with a spoon, a dark and gloomy expression printed on her face. She was sitting across from Mikado at Kiki's, the Americanized café where they usually ate lunch. It was the day after she had spoken to Sakura at the bookstore and, feeling the pressing need to confide in someone, she called Mikado and invited him to lunch. Being Mikado, he knew almost instantly that something was on her mind and before she knew it she had told him everything, or at least everything she suspected.

"Exactly," she replied, exasperation creeping into her voice. "I must have waited outside his house for an hour at least, but he never came home! I knocked on the door almost constantly and he never answered! There wasn't a note, or anything! I can't—"

"Stop, stop!" Mikado interrupted, aware that Naoko was not going to let this go easily. "You're working yourself into a state. You know," he said as Naoko sighed heavily into her meal, "he could have just been out running errands."

"I know," she said morosely. "I just hate letting things sit like this. If…"

She suddenly stopped talking. She had been about to bring to light the one thing she did not want to talk about. The idea that somehow she may have been responsible for the split of two long and devoted relationships was too much for her to bear. She only brought it up briefly before with Mikado and did not want to burden him with an extremely silly idea.

Or maybe, she thought miserably, she was only afraid of admitting to herself that it might be true.

As she withdrew into her thoughts, Mikado talked to her. Naoko only registered about half of what he was saying, but this did not deter him. "Naoko, I really think what you need to do is go home and rest. Write a little, read a book, take a bath, do anything but think. You're involving yourself too much in a situation in which you don't belong."

Naoko was not listening. Sighing, Mikado stood up and patted her on the shoulder in what he deemed was a comforting way. "I've got a meeting with a publisher to get to, but I'll call you later to see how you're feeling. Be sure to take my advice, okay?"

Naoko nodded silently and watched her friend walk away. Before he could disappear completely she hastily left the payment for both of their meals on the table and ran after him. "Mikado," she called, and was rewarded as he turned around by his kind green eyes. "Um…thank you for listening. I'll try to take your advice."

She couldn't help but notice that Mikado's cheeks flushed a little as he grinned awkwardly back at her. "It's really nothing," he demurred before changing the subject. "We're still going stargazing outside my house tomorrow night, right?"

A bit of the sparkle in Naoko's eyes returned after she heard that. "Definitely," she enthused and waved merrily at her friend as she left.

She did not notice Mikado staring wistfully at her retreating back.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon arriving at her house, Naoko tiredly opened the door, dropped her purse on the ground, and flopped down on the beat-up couch that resided in her sitting room. Although she had earned a reasonable amount of money from the sales of her book, she had not yet gotten around to reupholstering it. Just as she had not gotten around to fixing her air conditioner, unclogging her sink, or expanding the size of her pitiful domain.

Perhaps, she often thought as she stared at her cracked ceiling, the reason she kept putting off these projects was because focusing on them meant focusing on the real world, accepting that the fantasies she often dreamed of as a child were only fantasies. Just the thought of something paranormal, something out of the ordinary, still made her eyes light up and her body tremble with excitement. She did not want to let go of that feeling.

After all, who wouldn't prefer science fiction and fantasy to real life? Who wouldn't trade in their pet cat for a pet dragon any day? Who wouldn't throw away their comfortable life to take part in something greater than themselves, something fantastic?

Naoko sighed. She was surrounded by the "wouldn'ts" every day, people who were content to stay the same, to keep the dreariness and drudgery and do away with fantasy. She knew that not everybody felt as she did. What scared her was that she would rapidly become one of those people, lose her imagination and hope to routine.

However, what she was quickly realizing was that the 'real world' was even more complicated and unpredictable than fantasy. She wasn't being thrust into a world of magic and adventure like the characters in her books, but her life was definitely changing, and changing quickly. And as she was discovering about herself, she was extremely opposed to change, at least in the real world.

A light chime brought Naoko out of her reverie. As she lifted her head, she was startled to find that tears were forming in her eyes. Disgusted with herself, she hastily wiped them away. _Stress_, she told herself. _That's why I'm crying_. Quickly glancing at her watch, she gaped at the time it showed.

"6:30? Wow, I must have taken quite a nap," she mused, amazed that she had fallen asleep at all.

The chime sounded again and Naoko frowned, not recognizing the sound. Moving slowly around the room and lifting reference books, magazines, and leisure reading off the floor as she did so, she finally found the source. A message had appeared on her computer screen, prompting the ring as an alert.

The message read, '**_Naofan2000 wishes to chat. Do you accept?'_**

Naoko nearly laughed at herself. She had not received an instant message on her computer in months. She had forgotten what her alert even sounded like from her neglect. Grinning at her stupidity, she seated herself at her laptop and debated whether or not to respond to the message. She did not recognize the screen name and did not really feel like talking to anyone in particular.

Then again, she amended, if she did not recognize the screen name it was probably due to neglect as well. Deciding to take a chance, she put her hand on the computer mouse and decisively clicked on the button that said "accept."

Another message almost instantly popped up.

**Naofan2000**: Hello, Yanagisawa-sempai.

Naoko blinked in surprise. Whoever it was knew her real name. But who did she know who called her "sempai"? A light suddenly turned on in her head as she read the screen name once more.

_Wow_, she thought tiredly, _I really am dazed_. This person was obviously a fan of her book. She had posted her screen name on her book's website months before so that any writing hopefuls could ask her questions and she had completely forgotten about it. Taking a deep breath she typed in a reply.

**GhostTeller10**: Hello. Who might this be?

**Naofan2000**: An admirer of your work. It's an honor to be talking to you now.

**GhostTeller10**: Wow. I'm blushing.

**Naofan2000:** …You don't go online much, do you?

**GhostTeller10**: How do you mean?

**Naofan2000**: You don't use any of the icons. ;-D

Now Naoko really was blushing from embarrassment. When she was younger, she knew all of the internet symbols by heart. It had been so long, and it must have showed if a complete stranger could tell.

Wait a minute…

Frowning, Naoko hastily typed in a retort.

**GhostTeller10**: Maybe so. But you don't sound like you're entirely proficient in "chat speak" either.

**Naofan2000**: (chuckle) Maybe so. I find it somewhat degrading.

A smile came into Naoko's face. Something about this person caught her attention, and not just the way they wrote.

**GhostTeller10**: You seem very mature.

**Naofan2000**: I would hope so. I am in my twenties.

**GhostTeller10**: Really:-O

**Naofan2000**: (laughs) Very good. :-)

**GhostTeller10**: How do I know you're telling me the truth?

**Naofan2000**: You'll just have to trust me on that.

Suddenly, Naoko stopped typing. Doubt crept into her mind. Trusting a complete stranger was something she knew was not in her best interest. Thinking fast, she began again.

**GhostTeller10**: Why are you contacting me in the first place?

The answer did not appear for another minute or so.

**GhostTeller10**: Hello?

**Naofan2000**: Sorry, I got called away. Anyways…

**GhostTeller10:**?

**Naofan2000**: Well, my cousin is a novelist and he always complains about never having anybody to talk to.

**GhostTeller10**: I have someone to talk to.

**Naofan2000**: That's good for you. I guess what I'm offering is an impartial judge.

**GhostTeller10**: What?

**Naofan2000**: If you're ever in a situation you can't talk to this other person about, I'd be happy to listen. You're my niece's favorite author, and I've read your books and can see why she likes them. I'd like to be friends.

**Naofan2000**: Hello?

**GhostTeller10**: I just remembered I have to be somewhere.

**Naofan2000**: All right. Think about it, okay?

**GhostTeller10 Signs Off**

Naoko closed her laptop, feeling more than a bit confused. Why on earth did this complete stranger want to be friends with her? She supposed it could be plausible that they just wanted the experience of talking to a novelist. But they had said that their cousin was one. Why come to her?

What if it was a creepy stalker?

The thought made Naoko laugh out loud. The stalker must have been a desperate one if she was his target. Then she remembered the flowers lain on her doorstep, time after time. There had been another bouquet there that morning.

Suddenly, it didn't seem that funny anymore. Naoko allowed herself a silent shudder before getting up and leaving the house. She had not lied to Naofan2000. She did have somewhere to go, and she had to go quickly before it slipped her mind.

It was time to try Yamazaki's house again.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh, no…you're kidding me," Naoko wailed as she stood on Yamazaki's doorstep. She had been surprised to find out the day before that Chiharu's longtime boyfriend owned a full size one-story house, complete with white trim and a small lawn. She supposed that Yamazaki was a fairly successful businessman to be able to afford a house; Naoko owned one herself but most of her other friends that were not involved in publishing lived in apartments out of town. It was getting expensive to own a home these days.

Now the windows to this house were darkened and forbidding. The front door was well locked and no matter how many times Naoko knocked on the door, she received no answer. It was an empty and lifeless husk.

Disheartened, Naoko turned to walk away, promising herself to come back the next day, when suddenly she caught a glimpse of something in the distance. It was a man in a suit, carrying a briefcase, with a head of dark messy hair…

"Yamazaki-kun!" she cried out and ran to meet the quickly approaching figure.

Takashi Yamazaki stopped in his tracks and blinked almost owlishly. It was beginning to grow dark and his vision was poor in the first place, so he did not recognize Naoko immediately. Then, he caught a glimpse of Naoko's coffee brown eyes and a smile came into his face. He raised a hand in greeting as the young woman drew closer and said, "Good evening Yanagisawa-san."

Naoko stopped running and drew in a deep breath before replying. "Yamazaki-kun…good evening…I thought I would…never find you." Realizing she was beginning to hyperventilate, she forced herself to calm down and start breathing regularly again.

"You were looking for me?" Yamazaki asked, confusion and pleasure both apparent in his voice. "I'm touched. I was just coming home from work, and…"

"Yamazaki-kun, I need to talk to you," Naoko interrupted upon regaining her composure. "Can I come inside?"

The smile slid off of Yamazaki's face like butter off a hot plate. "What…you mean now? I was planning on relaxing for a while…I've had a hard—"

"I'm really sorry to intrude, Yamazaki-kun, but if I don't talk to you right now you might slip off again," the other replied without hesitation. "May I _please_ come inside?"

The dark-haired man looked as if he would protest again, but then suddenly stopped talking. He studied Naoko with an odd look on his face, one she could not identify. Then, with a cordial smile, he led the way to his house and unlocked the door. Once they were inside, he clapped his hands and the room instantly brightened.

This incident confirmed Naoko's earlier suspicions. Yamazaki was indeed decently wealthy, at least upper-middle class. "Make yourself at home. I'm going to change clothes," he said before disappearing into a room on their right.

This left Naoko staring at the interior of Yamazaki's home. Surprisingly, his house was decently decorated in a somewhat modern fashion, complete with simple pieces of artwork hung from the walls as well as carpeting. There was no clutter, no discarded clothing items, no stains on the carpet. The whole place was so well kept it made Naoko wonder if Yamazaki hired a maid to do the job.

The only thing that was decidedly male in the house, lodged in between two large bookcases filled with leisure reading, was a large-screen television, glimmering almost majestically. Hooked up to the fantastic behemoth was the latest video game system complete with two controllers. It was a magnificent sight.

Naoko stared longingly at the gaming console. A few years ago, she would have paid twice the retail price to own this particular system, geek that she was. Now, she had little time to devote to games. Her mind drifted back to when she and Mikado would spend hours at the nearest arcade.

If only they were kids again…things were so much less complicated.

"I'm back," a voice said behind her, and she jumped like a frightened rabbit. Yamazaki had returned, now dressed in a loose shirt and jeans. He stood at the doorway for a moment, as if trying to remember something, then clapped his hands together and said, "Right, I'm forgetting my manners. Do you want a drink, Yanagisawa-san?"

"Sure, a drink would be fine…" Naoko replied, and Yamazaki dashed into his kitchen before she realized what kind of drink he was talking about. "Nothing alcoholic!" she cried out quickly.

"Relax," said Yamazaki as he returned with a bottle that looked suspiciously like wine. "I have nothing of the sort in the house. This is cider." Pouring them both glasses from the bottle, he offered the first to Naoko and took a sip from the other. After looking suspiciously at her glass, Naoko reluctantly took a sip as well. "It's not poisoned," Yamazaki chuckled as she swished the liquid around her mouth.

After swallowing and grudgingly admitting to herself that the drink tasted pretty good, Naoko decided that she had to go right to the point. "Yamazaki-kun, I've come to talk to you about Chiharu-chan."

The dark-haired young man nearly choked on his next sip. After steadying himself and carefully swallowing, he replied, "What about her?"

"Why are you cutting yourself off from her?"

A frown was gradually making its way into Yamazaki's face. "I don't think I'm doing that."

Naoko ground her teeth. Why was he being so stubborn? "She's telling me you won't answer her calls, and that you changed the lock on your door."

"Well, she's obviously calling at the wrong time of day. I'm at work most of the…"

"I heard the message you left on Chiharu-chan's machine," Naoko interrupted.

That got Yamazaki's attention. He stopped talking and stared into Naoko's eyes, still not saying a word. Once again, Naoko wished that she was better at reading people. She had no idea what Yamazaki thought about what she just said. Then again, Yamazaki was a hard person to read. It was like trying to figure out what a cat was thinking.

"Did it ever occur to you that this isn't any of your business?" Yamazaki whispered, almost dangerously soft. "Chiharu-chan and I have been having problems for a while now. I want to figure out, by myself, why we have these problems. If they're her fault or mine."

"Chiharu-chan's my friend, so it is my business," Naoko insisted, a bit put off by Yamazaki's tone. "And every relationship has its problems! You can't just throw in the towel. How long have you been seeing each other, ten years?"

"No," Yamazaki said. "Technically, we've only been seeing each other for three years. Before that, we were just friends."

"That's still a long time!" Naoko said. She was unwilling to let this go lightly, and did not appreciate Yamazaki dancing around the issue. "Chiharu's really hurt by what you're doing. You at least owe her an explanation, she might even agree with you."

An awkward silence hung in the air like poison. Finally, Yamazaki let out a heavy sigh. "I suppose you're right about that. Fine," he said as he poured himself another glass of cider. "I'll talk to her in the morning."

Naoko was not satisfied by his answer, but she supposed that she could do nothing more to persuade him. "All right then," she said. "If that's it, I'll leave. You'd better really talk to her," she warned as she got up to depart.

"Wait, you're leaving now?"

Naoko stopped walking and turned to face Yamazaki. He sat on his couch with a glass in his hand, an expectant look on his face. Shuddering involuntarily, Naoko replied, "Yes. I just came here to talk to you about Chiharu."

"Aw, come on, it's early yet," Yamazaki said and got up from his seat. "I haven't even told you my story about cider yet!"

Naoko nearly laughed. She had fond memories of Yamazaki's creative explanations about everything and anything. "I really need to go, though."

"I know what you're thinking, and that's not it!" Yamazaki insisted. "I kind of get bored around here at night, and my video games are boring to play by myself." He grinned. "You strike me as a gamer. Are you interested?"

A flash of temptation ran through Naoko's body. She stared wistfully over at the unused game console in the middle of the floor. Her fingers itched, and she balled her hands into fists to make herself focus. "Video games, you say?" she carefully asked.

"Yeah. I've got the newest Dead or Alive all set to go." He flashed a winning smile and gestured over to the game. "Come on, just a couple rounds. Then you can go home."

Naoko hesitated for a moment, alternating glances towards the game, the door, and then at Yamazaki. His eyes were near closed, like always, so she could not read his expression. But it was an innocent offer. A part of her bereted her suspicious mind. Just because a guy wanted her to stay over for a while did not mean he was getting romantic ideas. Or was she just rationalizing?

Finally, with a sigh, she went over to Yamazaki's side and resolutely grabbed a controller. There was nothing wrong with having a little fun. Besides, what was she going to do for the rest of the night?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After two hours, the moon was in the sky, diamond on a velvet background. Cicadas chirped lazily in the background, a soft wind blew through the trees, and Naoko and Yamazaki furiously battled each other, using the medium of Dead or Alive 4.

Yamazaki peppered the matches with conversation, which Naoko took as an attempt to make her distracted. "So, do you know about video games?"

"Of course. I'm beating you, aren't I?"

"That's not what I mean. And you're not beating me, I'm letting you win." Phrases like that always made Naoko smile. Men were such wussies when they were about to lose.

"Long ago, back in the dark ages, people were starting to get pretty bored of their entertainment. So one man set up a bunch of candles in front of a paper screen, and suggested that people could fight using shadow puppets. This turned out to be hugely popular, but highly low-tech. A Japanese businessman refined the process centuries later using machines…."

"Your lies won't distract me, Yamazaki," Naoko said tiredly, struggling to focus on her character. As the night wore on, it got harder and harder to concentrate on the fight. The screen moved all over the place and her reflexes had definitely become slower. Yamazaki was showing signs of fatigue too. Their avatars were like zombies, throwing a punch or a kick every once in a while, but basically fighting in slow motion. They may as well have been fighting with sock puppets.

Was she really that tired? It wasn't hard to conceive since she had been stressing for about a week. Maybe she just needed some sleep.

"They aren't lies. Everything I say is solid fact," Yamazaki said stubbornly, downing another glass from the bottled drink. He poured one for Naoko. "More sake?"

Naoko took the glass and drank the whole thing before she registered what Yamazaki had said. "Sake?"

Yamazaki blinked bemusedly and looked at the bottle on the table. "Huh," he said. "Guess it wasn't cider after all."

"I've been drinking sake?" Naoko said, and took a count of how many glasses she had drank. "What happened to 'I've got nothing of the sort in the house.'?" She said this last sentence while imitating Yamazaki's mode of speech, something he found hilarious. He burst out laughing.

Naoko couldn't help it; she started giggling too. "You drugged me!" she accused, trying vainly to keep a straight face. Laughter trickled out of her like water from a blocked up stream. She had finished counting, and come to the realization that she had drank five glasses of sake, enough to make her more than a bit tipsy. Naoko knew from experience that she did not hold liquor well.

"No," Yamazaki said, still laughing loudly. "I did not drug you."

"Did so!" Naoko retorted. "You said it was cider!"

"Okay, okay, okay," Yamazaki said, obviously trying to regain control of himself. "I may have accidentally grabbed a bottle of…what's it…sake, instead of cider." Naoko could detachedly tell that he was drunk as well. She knew that she ought to be as mad as hell, but the whole situation was so funny that she found it hard to muster up enough anger.

"Nice excuse," Naoko scoffed. She wasn't drunk enough to be slurring her speech, but her brain functions were definitely slowing down. "Hey," she asked Yamazaki, "what are we laughing about?"

Yamazaki paused and appeared deep in thought. Then he gave a comic shrug and the two of them burst out laughing once again. The level of merriment in the room was so high that Naoko temporarily forgot what had been troubling her all day and succumbed to the laughter. She needed the tension to be released, and Yamazaki had unexpectedly given her that. It had not been a mistake to stay after all.

Then, completely contrary to the mood in the room, Yamazaki swiftly leaned over and kissed Naoko's lips. She instantly stiffened from the sensation, something she had not experienced for a long time. "S'ry," Yamazaki muttered softly as he started to pull away. Then, he kissed her again, steadying his weight as he bent forward.

"Why did you do that?" Naoko whispered, paralyzed by the incident. Her brain refused to cooperate with her.

"I don't know," Yamazaki replied just as softly as he continued his kisses. "I said I was sorry."

"You're still doing it," Naoko pointed out, and felt herself relax. Almost automatically, she returned his kisses, covering his had with her own.

"I guess I am." Yamazaki's kisses became more passionate as they moved closer to each other on the couch. He slowly worked his hands behind Naoko's back as she stretched her arms to fall around his neck. They slowly lowered themselves down, a tangle of limbs in a drunken embrace.

As Naoko accepted Yamazaki's embrace, her brain began to buzz, both from the stimulation and from the alcohol. However, she felt as though there was something she needed to remember. Her concentration blurred as Yamazaki's lips moved from her mouth and brushed her cheeks. What was wrong? Was she supposed to be doing something else? It was hard to think with Yamazaki kissing her neck.

Naoko came close to banishing the thought as Yamazaki slowly unbuttoned her shirt. She had removed his only seconds before, and the sensation of their skin touching exhilarated her. How often did she feel like this? Was it really so bad to give into the pleasure filling her body?

Then, as they held each other, an image flashed through Naoko's mind. A tearstained face, brown curls, the sound of a voice inside a small apartment…

_"I need to take some time to think…" _

Naoko stopped everything. She had just realized what the feeling of wrongness meant. She pushed Yamazaki away, only to have him continue to kiss her as a response. "No," she mumbled, thrusting him away once more. "This is wrong, something's wrong…"

She shoved him away one more time and resolutely tried to stand on her feet. However, before she could take two steps towards the door, she began to feel faint and sank to the floor. As she became engulfed in darkness, she vainly muttered, "Chiharu-chan," to nobody in particular, one last cry to try and redeem herself before she lost consciousness.

Then, with strong arms trying to shake her awake and shame running through her like a virus, she blacked out.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunlight hit Naoko's eyes as she slowly awakened to unfamiliar surroundings. As she tried to make out shapes around her, she clutched her head tightly and groaned. It was like an earthquake in her brain! Why did her head hurt so much? She was in a bed that was not hers looking at a room that seemed utterly unfamiliar. What was going on?

She felt a breeze from a slightly open window hit her chest, and looked down to see that her shirt was open. Hastily covering her breasts, she flushed and tried to think. Something had gone on the night before. But what? She couldn't remember. Her headache blocked all passage to her long-term memory.

Suddenly, a robed figure opened the door to the room and she shrieked and hid under the covers. Poking her head out, she saw the one person she knew could answer all her questions.

"Good morning," said Yamazaki. "Feeling any better?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: I know that most of you will hate this chapter. Yamazaki and Naoko are both out of character near the end, but I did that on purpose. Please believe me when I say that this is not going to be a story about making the guys look bad. But what would a story be without conflict?

Comments? Questions? Constructive Critisism? Please leave a review!


	7. Secrets

Chapter 7: Secrets

Shaking both from the morning chill enveloping her and with a hint of unrealized anger, Naoko stared at the Yamazaki's looming figure at the doorway. She realized that she was not completely covered and hurriedly drew the blankets protectively around her, a makeshift shield. Her mind raced as she drifted back to the previous night through her pounding headache. What the hell had happened? She couldn't remember, and so she glared at Yamazaki, knowing that he held the answers.

"It's okay. I didn't see anything," Yamazaki said softly, answering the unvoiced question. "I carried you in here after you passed out and slept on the couch the rest of the night. I only came in here to give you some coffee. You look like you need it." He proffered the steaming mug in his hands to Naoko, who quickly snatched it from him and gulped it down to drown her tainted morning breath. She winced; her throat tasted vile. As she wiped her lips, a familiar taste came into her tongue and triggered the switch which unlocked her repressed memories.

Suddenly, Naoko felt sick. Her shoulders sagged from the weight of what had transpired. Now downcast, she muttered bitterly to Yamazaki, "Are you sure this isn't sake either?"

Yamazaki refused to meet Naoko's staring eyes. He laughed humorlessly, "So, you do remember. I was sort of hoping you would forget that particular bit of information." Suddenly, he perked up and grinned. "So, I guess it's true what they say. Coffee is an age-old memory trigger, you know."

The fact that this deviant was taking the situation lightly brought some of the life back into Naoko's dormant rage. "Stop that! It was your stupid alcohol that made me remember!" Still keeping the blankets wrapped snugly around her, she stood up and thrust her face into Yamazaki's own. "How dare you take advantage of me like that? How can you joke about what we did last night? There is nothing funny about any of this!"

Yamazaki laid his hands on Naoko's shoulders and tried to hold her still, but it was like trying to reign in a bull. "Please stop shouting," he pleaded, the serious tone creeping back into his voice. "The neighbors will hear and this isn't something I would like to explain…"

"Well, you should have thought about that before you cheated on poor Chiharu-chan! I'll shout all I want!"

Naoko stopped yelling abruptly as she realized what she had just said. Essentially, she had just blamed Yamazaki for everything they had done the night prior. That wasn't right, was it?

She could feel her heart begin to pound as she relived the experience. Yamazaki's first tentative kiss, her dazed and slow response, and finally the red hot fire of adrenaline that had rushed through her as his strong hands caressed her body…

Naoko closed her eyes tight, trying to calm herself down, but she was dismayed to find that the reaction stayed the same. Her skin tingled as it remembered Yamazaki's touch, clamoring for an encore. She was startled to find tears beginning to form in her eyes, but was relieved to know that she was experiencing at least one decent emotion at that moment. Passion had presented itself to her, and like a fool she had succumbed to desire. She deserved to feel guilty.

She was a failure as Chiharu's friend, she told herself angrily, and a complete hypocrite. In the end she was no better than Yamazaki. She could do nothing but cry silently into her trembling hands, knowing that she had done the worst thing she could possibly do.

Yamazaki shifted his feet uncomfortably, and then hesitantly knelt down beside the distraught writer in his bedroom. "It's not cheating, you know," he murmured, almost defensively, beneath his breath. "You can't call it cheating if you aren't together anymore." This brief admission did nothing to alleviate the tension. After an awkward silence, punctured only by Naoko's continued sobs, Yamazaki tentatively patted her on the shoulder and tried once more to get her to speak. "I'm…really sorry. I know that means nothing to you, but I honestly didn't mean for it to get this out of hand."

"So you did drug me on purpose," Naoko sniffled accusingly.

"No!" Yamazaki insisted. "I honestly and truly made a mistake. You can check the bottles in my cellar. They're all unlabeled. I guess I forgot which was what kind of drink and—"

"Why are you lying to me, Yamazaki?"

Yamazaki stopped talking and stared nonplussed into Naoko's sad eyes. His shoulders sagged and he turned away. Suddenly, he could not even think of facing her. "I…I know you must think I'm scum right now. I don't feel too good about myself, either. At least believe me when I say this is the first time I've done this. I would never," he said, his tone growing stronger by the second, "never think about cheating on Chiharu. I don't want to hurt her."

"You're saying all the right things, Yamazaki, but you need to think about what you're doing," Naoko insisted. "You never officially broke up with Chiharu. You left her a message saying that you wanted to take a break and then refused to answer her calls. You leave your house for hours on end and when I try to fix it, you trick me into nearly…" She stopped; she did not want to say what she was thinking. "So when you say that you don't want to hurt her, I think—"

"Hold on," Yamazaki interrupted. "What do you mean by that first part? The part about not returning her calls?"

"I mean that you haven't been answering your phone or your door!"

Confusion returned into Yamazaki's face. "You need to get your facts straight, Yanagisawa-san. I've been answering my phone all week. Chiharu hasn't called me in days." A look of doubt crept across his face. "Or rather she hasn't finished any calls. I always check my caller ID before answering the phone. She has called once or twice, and I admit I was hesitant about answering them, but I have. She always hangs up before I say anything."

For a moment, Naoko was struck speechless by the implications of what she was hearing. "But…Chiharu told me she's left messages on your answering machine."

A pensive frown in his expression, Yamazaki thought over what Naoko had told him. Finally, a sad smile came into his face. "Heh," he chuckled softly. "I guess she's more afraid than I thought she might be. I…must have shaken her up pretty badly." He looked at his hands, a false grin still present in his expression. "That's…not like the Chiharu I know."

Naoko's mind reeled. That was not like the Chiharu she knew either. The Chiharu that was never afraid to confront someone, as she had done countless times in school. The Chiharu who was confident about every move she made. The Chiharu who always knew when to forgive and forget. Surely this was not the girl who was scared to hear what Yamazaki had to say?

Because that was it, Naoko was sure. Chiharu did not want to hear why Yamazaki had dumped her. Dimly through the shock that Naoko felt, she could hear Yamazaki continuing to speak. He spoke fervently and quickly, like he was ripping off an emotional band-aid. Perhaps, she thought distantly, he had the idea that saying it quickly would make him easy to listen to.

"I'll admit I haven't been completely honest with you. Or Chiharu-chan, for that matter. Hell, I haven't been honest with myself. It was a spur of the moment thing when I left Chiharu that message and I still can't get over it, but you have to understand that I've been thinking about breaking up with her for a while now. We…" Here he stopped and licked his lips hesitantly. "We've been at a standstill for so long that I've…she's never…I can hardly say…"

Suddenly he stood up and began to pace around the room angrily, still not meeting Naoko's eyes. "Why am I telling you this?" he muttered, not really speaking to her. "This isn't any of your business."

"It became my business the minute you got me involved," Naoko said, softly but forcefully. "Now, are you going to tell me why you got me drunk or not?"

In the heavy silence that followed, Yamazaki steadfastly ignored Naoko's urgent glances. Naoko was baffled by his grim stillness. Was it that he didn't have any answers? Was he just making things up as he went along? Maybe, she reasoned grudgingly, he was just as confused as she was about everything. Maybe this was much more complicated than a young man cheating on his first love.

Finally he spoke, and the answer he gave sent chills up Naoko's spine. "Maybe…I got myself and you drunk because…I wanted the freedom to do what I knew I shouldn't."

Suddenly, a distant knock on Yamazaki's door sounded like a death knell. Naoko's heart jumped into her throat. Almost routinely, Yamazaki stood up and walked out of the room, calling over his shoulder, "stay right there. I'll be back." Before leaving the room, he turned back to stare at her for one moment before saying, "You know, you aren't naked. You can stop covering yourself." With that, he left.

Left alone and embarrassed in Yamazaki's bedroom, Naoko could only listen anxiously for any hints of who might be at the door. Who in their right mind woke up this early on a weekend? Suddenly, Naoko realized that she did not know what time it was. She glanced hurriedly at the clock on the wall and noted with some surprise that it was ten minutes after eleven. _Do people always wake up this late after a night of hard drinking?_ Naoko wondered.

_Well_, she thought wryly, _if nothing else this experience will provide me with something to use in my writing._

Voices began to drift down the hall from the door like stains of music. One was Yamazaki's, a voice like a piano, cajoling and easy to listen to. It seemed strained somehow, like he was hitting the wrong keys. This was explained by the other voice, a woman's, which sounded like a violin, graceful, high-pitched and light. It was playing a sad and frantic song, hurried and rushed by a driven purpose. The sick feeling in Naoko's stomach grew as she realized who this woman was.

Chiharu Mihara was at Yamazaki's door.

Softly and slowly, so as to not attract attention, Naoko crept closer to the door and listened to the voices. Her mind raced, full of conflicting emotions. On the one hand, she was happy for Chiharu for finally coming to see Yamazaki. On the other…

…she was caught in a very bad place at a very bad time.

"I'd invite you in, Chiharu, but the place is a bit of a mess right now."

"That's all right. I can say what I need to right here."

"…Are you okay? I can see you shaking from here."

"Yamazaki-kun…I want…I need to know something."

"What's that?"

"You…didn't really cheat on me with some girl in a bar, did you?"

"Well…no, I lied about that."

"So, this is all just some crisis you're going through and we can get back together, right?"

There was a pregnant pause. Naoko swore she could hear her own heartbeat.

"Right…?" Chiharu urged.

"Chiharu…"

"What? I forgive you for leaving that…horrible message, okay? Can't we just go back to the way things were?"

"The way things were…huh?"

"Please, Yamazaki-kun…I don't want us to break up. We can pretend you never—"

"I don't think that 'the way things were' is good enough for me, Chiharu."

"What…?"

"I didn't like the way things were. I wasn't satisfied. That's why I left that message."

"That's a fine way to act…to the girl you've spent most of your life with!" Anger was creeping into her voice.

"So you admit it then?"

"What are you talking about? Admit what?"

"Sometimes…"

Silence again. Naoko shifted uneasily from her position near the door. What was he about to say?

What it was, she would never know, for at that moment, an insistent ringing sound rent the air. Naoko began to gasp, but quickly covered her mouth, aware that any noise from her would alert Chiharu to the fact that she was listening. Then, sudden realization made her blood run cold.

That ringing was coming from her cell phone. She instantly rued the day that she made "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" her ring tone.

"What's that?" Naoko could hear Chiharu's voice sounding from the hall as she hastily removed the noisy phone from her pants pocket to turn it off. Cursing under her breath, she glanced at her caller ID out of habit and then quickly hung up on whoever was on the other end.

"Uh, what do you mean? I don't hear anything." Yamazaki stammered. Naoko closed her eyes from pure exasperation; he had said the one thing that would make Chiharu suspicious. Her eyes then snapped open and searched the room for a way out. She knew that she could not, in any circumstances, be caught in Yamazaki's room. Finally, she spied a window at the far end of the room. She could have hit herself; why did it take her so long to see it? Quickly rushing over to open her path to escape, she tried to ignore the soft footfalls near the door that seemed to get louder with each passing second.

"It sounded like it was coming from your room."

"Oh! Oh, that! It's my cell phone. I changed the ring tone a couple of days ago."

"Since when are you a fan of Disney?"

"Huh…?"

"That ring tone. It's from a Disney film. Or didn't you know that?"

"Right! Disney. It's from…"

"Are you hiding something from me?"

Naoko fumbled with the lock on the window. Panic began to rise in her chest as Yamazaki spoke. Was it that he wasn't as good a liar now that he was older? Naoko thought irritably. Or was Chiharu making him nervous?

She finally managed to open the lock and began to open the window, her heart pounding almost threateningly, as if it would burst out of her chest. She forced the glass pane open wider as she heard the menacing sound of a doorknob opening behind her. It was about to be opened, Chiharu would know she was there…

_Thwack! _The door was forced back in place.

"Yamazaki!"

"I'm not done talking to you yet, Chiharu." Naoko could tell from the forced tone in his voice that he was only saying it to divert her attention. She hastily opened the window and placed a leg carefully outside.

"Yamazaki, what are you hiding?"

"Just listen to me—"

"No! Let me in there!"

Chiharu slammed the door open and faced an empty room. A chill breeze blew through the wide open window. Sitting not far outside it, trying hard not to even breathe, was Naoko, clutching her still heaving chest. She was trying vainly to stop her heart from beating a fearful tattoo against her rib cage, while her eyes darted about to see if anyone caught a glimpse of her daring escape.

Naoko could still hear Chiharu and Yamazaki in the room behind her, but was too scared to listen to what they were saying. Deciding that it would be a good time to leave, she abruptly got on her knees and slunk away from the house like a beaten dog. Then, when she felt as though she were a safe distance away, she sprinted away, not even daring to look back.

* * *

It did not take Naoko long to run out of breath; the experience had completely weakened her system. As she walked automatically down the street, she hung her head in despair, feeling close to breaking into hysterics. She could not remember feeling more miserable in her entire life. It would now be her fault that Yamazaki and Chiharu broke up for good. 

_Why did I ever get involved?_ she thought ruefully, stumbling a bit as she walked. _Why couldn't I just leave it alone?_ Her head still felt like it was splitting in two…

And of course, she knew what she had to do. The only decent thing she could do at this point was confess to Chiharu the next time she saw her. Then, maybe, she could have a chance of putting things right. But…

She flashed upon the vision of Chiharu back at her apartment: crying, confused, listless…broken.

_I can't. I can't make her feel that way again._

_But then, _she asked herself silently, _what should I do?_

"Naoko?"

The writer whipped her head around at the sound of her name in a man's voice, chilled by the thought of Yamazaki coming after her. But when she turned around, she saw Mikado, his emerald eyes frowning worriedly at her disheveled appearance.

The sight nearly made her burst into tears again.

"What's the matter? You look terrible…what are you doing out?" he said, hesitantly placing his hand on her shoulder. Maybe he was afraid of knocking her over, Naoko thought wryly.

"I'm fine," she replied automatically, noticing how dead the words sounded. "I was just…taking a walk."

"Don't lie to me," he reprimanded, fire coming into his eyes. "Something happened. What?"

Naoko could not answer. A desperate want to tell somebody what she had been through tugged at her heart. But as she stared into her friend's anxious eyes, she realized that Mikado was not the one she wanted to tell. If she told him, she was sure that all should would receive was judgment, or pity, which may have been worse. She bitterly kept her mouth shut, thinking sadly, _It's for the best_.

Mikado gazed at her for a few moments, and then sighed with the air of someone fighting a losing battle. "I suppose you don't have to tell me," he said softly, breaking the invisible bond that held their eyes. "But I really wish you would." A sad smile forced itself onto his handsome face and he playfully ruffled her hair, the way he always did. "Come on," he said, "I'll walk you home."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, they were back at her house, and Naoko was blushing with shame and embarrassment. Her home was a compete sty. Mikado laughed with surprise as he spied a lone sock hanging forlornly from the lamp near the door. "Well," he said chuckling, "I'm glad to see you haven't let fame go to your head. I haven't been to your house in so long, I was afraid it had become all modernized and sterile." 

Despite herself, Naoko barked out a laugh. "Come on, you know me better than that. I live like an animal nowadays…I don't know how I ever kept my room so clean as a kid."

"Well, you know…it's not surprising. People change when they get older."

Naoko looked into Mikado's thoughtful face. "Really?" she said with a smile. "I don't think so."

"I'll make you some tea," said Mikado hurriedly after depositing her on the beaten old couch. Naoko's eyes followed him as he walked to her dirty kitchen, and then she leaned back with a heavy sigh. _Just like Mikado_, she mused. He was always the one to pick her up after a bad day, even when they were younger.

_No_, she corrected herself. Especially_ when we were younger…_

* * *

_"It's not fair…things were going so well…"_

_Night had fallen hard on 18-year old Naoko's head. She was curled up in the corner of her room with pearly tears in her red eyes. Only minutes before, she had been sobbing, but she could no longer find the strength to do it anymore. All she could do was sit and speak brokenly to her best friend, on the other end of the receiver._

_"Do you want me to come over?" Mikado said, his voice distorted by the phone line._

_"No…you don't need to do that."_

_"Naoko, I know you're hurting. But Ijima-san was a jerk. I mean, he didn't even have the decency to break up with you in private, he did it in front of his friends…"_

_"Don't talk about Satoru like that," Naoko said tersely through her tears. "He didn't mean it like that…"_

_"Then how did he mean it? Naoko, you're being too nice to him. Tell me one good thing he did while you were with him."_

_Naoko could not answer for a minute. She could not even remember why she went out with Satoru Ijima in the first place. "He…he was the first one to ever say that I was pretty," she said brokenly, only now realizing that that was not reason enough to date someone. "I guess…I made myself think I was in love with him."_

_"He didn't deserve you, Nao-chan."_

_For some reason, hearing Mikado say that made her cry more, but at least now she could smile. "I thought I told you not to call me by that stupid pet name," she laughed despite herself._

_"Yeah, but it suits you. You're like a kitty cat. You need taking care of, and Ijima didn't give you the pampering you deserve."_

_"I'm not asking to be pampered," she said. "I just want someone to look at me and not just see a plain-looking girl in glasses." _

_"Come on, let me come over," Mikado insisted. "I'll bring ice cream."_

_Naoko's tears were gone. All she could think of was how Sakura-chan and all of her other friends could comfort her and badmouth Satoru all they wanted, but Mikado could do it better than any of them._

_It had always been that way._

_"Thank you," she whispered and hung up the phone with a sad smile. _

* * *

The phone rang noisily, shaking Naoko out of her reverie. Blushing furiously, she hugged one of the couch pillows close to her chest and sighed. She did not feel like talking to anyone right now. All she felt like doing was curling up with some tea and… 

"Hello, Yanagisawa residence."

Naoko instantly sat up with a look of fury on her face. Mikado was actually answering her phone! Was he thick? Didn't he realize that she just wanted to rest?

_If one thing irritates me about Mikado's personality_, she thought wrathfully, _it's his utter cluelessness!_

"Uhm, she's…not really available right now. Can I take a message?"

Suddenly, panic struck her heart and her blood ran cold. What if that was Chiharu on the phone? She could insist to talk to her and then Mikado would know the whole story! Heart pounding anew, she closed her eyes tightly, hoping against hope that she was wrong.

Naoko could hear the Mikado hang the phone up, but still gave a start when he walked in the room. "That was your old friend Rika-san on the phone. She says she's sorry she couldn't reach you earlier."

Naoko gave a sigh of relief. It wasn't Chiharu after all. Then, happiness began to creep into her chest. She hadn't spoken to Rika in so long. It would be great to catch up.

"Um…you looked a little worried earlier. Is there someone you don't want to hear from?"

"Just make my tea, please, Mikado."

As Mikado obediently left the room, Naoko immediately regretted saying those words. All he wanted to do was help her. Shouldn't she give him a chance?

Then, before she could do anything, an insistent "ding!" emitted from her computer. Quickly scanning the screen, her heart sank as she saw the message displayed upon it.

**Naofan2000 _wishes to chat. Do you accept?_ **

"Oh, dear god…"

_I would like to be friends…_

Shuddering as she remembered Naofan's last message, Naoko stared at the little message box. A horrible and cruel idea popped into her head, something she knew she would never normally do.

After all, what sort of person would rather entrust secrets to a complete stranger than to one of her dearest friends?

She continued to stare, filled with hesitation. Then, with her heart filled with self-loathing, she moved the mouse and clicked on the button labeled "yes".

* * *

A/N: Gaah. This chapter took a long time to write. I wanted to do a lot to make up for getting it posted so late. 

I knew I'd get a lot of comments on the last chapter, and I sure did. Rest assured, I do have a point for making Yamazaki act this way, which you may have gleaned from this chapter. Can you find the hidden clues?

Hah. I sound like a TV announcer. Please read and review this chapter! I hope to hear comments and questions from all of you readers!


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